Braid

Title
Developer
Publisher
Genre
ESRB Rating
Demo Release Date
Full Release Date
Platforms
Official Website
Demo Download Size
Review Date

Braid
Number None Inc.
Microsoft
Platform / Puzzle
Everyone 10+
6th August 2008
6th August 2008
Xbox 360 (Reviewed)
http://www.braid-game.com
144MB
11th August 2008

What did I think before playing?
There has been a little controversy bubbling up around this game and its pricing. Gamers have found it interesting to listen to Jonathan Blow in getting a tiny bit of insight into the development process, specifically the decisions surrounding the pricing of games being put XBLA. This being a small indie title which has gathered some great scores from critics. Braid is supposedly quick to play through but is supposed to be a rewarding experience in the same vein as Portal.

What is included?
The full first world, (world 2?) along with a taste of the next two levels.

What did I think afterwards?
First of all, this game has a fantastic musical score along with some pretty oil-painting-like graphics. It truly is relaxing to play this game because of it. The game begins with a dark and moody scene with your character in the shadows. There is no menu to speak of, you just get prompted to move your character with the left stick. You soon enter your first world, (for some reason named world 2,) after reading through a bit of love story and have to start solving the puzzles. On the second part of the world, (2-2 if you will,) I was already stumped on how to reach two of the puzzle pieces you seemingly need to collect, but that doesn't stop your progress.
There are obvious heavy influences from the original Mario Bros. games, right down to the goomba and piranha plant enemies. When reaching the end of world 2 you are greeted by a very polite and cute dinosaur who informs you "The princess is in another castle." I noticed a few other nods to gaming legends too, including a Donkey Kong section. The dinosaur also acts as a salesman, blocking your progress much further into the game and asking you to hit the X button to unlock the full version. You just get enough of a taste of the variations you are likely to see throughout the game to be tantalized.

Would I buy the full game?
I am very tempted, but I think the price may be a bit high at 1200 points. Even at 800 I would think twice. It feels like this game will gather a cult following, but I don't see it reaching the mainstream. The game is easy to play, (you can never really die since you are expected to reverse time if that happens,) but the puzzles look like they will get tough and this title has little going for it in terms of brand recognition or marketing campaign, (beyond the "Summer of Games" promotion from Microsoft.)

Demo Pros
Shows of the game beautifully with a full world followed by pieces of the next two.

Demo Cons
None I can think of. Perhaps that dinosaur is pushing the game a bit, but he is ever so polite about it.

Demo Rating 9 / 10

Thoughts after playing the full game?
If I play the full game I will put comments here about whether I feel the demo was representative of the final product and if I am happy with the purchase.

Sales Figures
If I can find sales information about a game after it has been released I'll add that here. It may be useful to track demos to sales performance.